How to Protect Your Skin During the Winter Months

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Winter brings with it biting winds and extreme temperatures, often more than enough to dry out your skin and stamp your chilled cheeks with a rosy glow.  Uncomfortable dry skin can often occur in the winter, especially on the face, the feet and the hands.  While this is very uncomfortable even on the best day, many individuals suffer from problems, which are even worse and far more painful.  Their skin becomes so dry that it is flaky, cracked and inflamed.  Improving your skin care regimen to avoid these problems is as easy as following the tips below.

Make an Appointment

 

If you are going down to your local drug store to try to find someone who can give you advice on improving your winter skin care routine, you are probably looking in the wrong place.  Instead, make an appointment to see a specialist.  A dermatologist or an esthetician will be able to give you sound, solid advice for protecting your skin and making it less vulnerable to the damages of winter.

Do Not Fall for the Hype

 

There are many great skin protection brands on the market today.  Some of them are very expensive, and some are more reasonable.  When you are shopping for skin care products, do not fall into the trap of automatically assuming that products that are more expensive are better, just because they are more expensive.  Plenty of less costly brands work just as well as their, more costly, competitors, so do some research before you decide to buy.

Moisturize According to Season

 

Your moisturizer was performing like a champion all spring, through the summer and into the fall.  Now, however, it seems as though your dream moisturizer really was only a dream.  Do not worry; it is perfectly understandable that you need a different moisturizer for winter use.  As the weather changes, so do the needs of your skin.  An oil-based moisturizer will work better to retain your skin’s moisture during the winter months, while water-based products may be your favorite during warmer months. 

When you are choosing an oil-based product, make sure you are paying attention to the kind of oil you are getting.  If you are going to be using your moisturizer for your face, it is especially important to get products made with oils that are less apt to clog pores, such as avocado oil, almond, primrose or mineral oil.  Humectants are also very useful in that their purpose is to attract moisture, keeping your skin hydrated and protected.

Protect Your Skin from the Sun

 

Even in winter, the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays can wreak havoc on your skin.  The effect may actually be worse in winter because you have to deal with the glare of the sun on the snow, too.  Using broad-spectrum sunscreen will help protect sensitive areas like the face and hands from sun damage.  If you are going to be outside for a while, make sure you take your sunscreen with you and reapply it as needed to protect your skin all day long.

How do you keep your skin at its best during the winter?